Former DCB president starts new Louisiana bank

PRAIRIEVILLE La. — Ron Wilson, the former president of Desert Community Bank, is now head of a new business bank — South Louisiana Business Bank.

After 18 years in the Victor Valley, Ron Wilson left last year shortly after DCB merged with East West Bank, and moved to Prairieville, Louisiana, 14 miles south of Baton Rouge with his wife Deanna.

"When I left there, I thought I would never get back into banking," Wilson said. "But sometimes the good Lord has other plans."

Wilson spent a year in Louisiana teaching financial math and geometry at a local high school, before being approached by the bank and offered the chief executive officer position. He had previously declined when offered a position other than the CEO.

"Then they offered me the CEO position and stock options," Wilson said. "They don't offer that in the school system."

Louisiana regulators required that the CEO of the bank had to have previously served as the CEO of another bank within the past year.

Since April of last year, the bank has raised $13.5 million, including several investors from the High Desert that contributed $10,000 or more when learning that Wilson was on board.

The bank will focus on business banking and had a soft opening July 1. The grand opening is set for Aug. 1.

"We're not trying to be everything to everybody," Wilson said. "But to some people we're everything."

Wilson, 55, said he sees himself staying at the bank for the next 10 years while continuing to be a guest teacher at the high school where he taught.

After retirement he said he would like to teach on a substitute basis.